SAULT STE. MARIE — If it seems too early to be talking about must-win games, don't tell that to the Soo Eagles.

Jared VanWormer scored the clinching goal with 4 minutes, 35 seconds remaining in the third period, and the Eagles tallied two empty-net goals to beat Jamestown 5-1 at Pullar Stadium on Saturday.

With the Eagles (31-11-4), Kalamazoo (29-13-4) and Jamestown (28-14-4) each having 14 games remaining in the regular season — and the third-place Ironmen just six points behind the Eagles after splitting the weekend series, every game is must-win, coach Bruno Bragagnolo said. The Eagles' only games against the top contenders is a two-game series at Kalamazoo on March 2-3.

"Every game is battling for first place, that's how it is," Bragagnolo said. "We want to take first place. It's hard to get to the top, and when you're there, you want to stay there and everybody wants to knock you off."

For the North Division playoffs, the top two teams get a bye while the next four teams play best-of-three series. The winners then advance to a second round best-of-five, then a best-of-five championship series. And each of the top three has made big moves to shore up their lineup. The Eagles added defenseman JD Cotroneo, the Ironmen added goalie Joe Ballmer from the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers, and the K-Wings added three forwards and a defenseman in the last three weeks.

The Eagles also added goalie Paige Skoog to back up Tyler Marble, and Bragagnolo said Skoog will get some ice time down the stretch and have a chance to be the Eagles' No. 1 goalie next season.

"JD is very experienced, but we're still down a couple of guys," Bragagnolo said about missing Dante Suffredini and Kyle Loridon with injuries. "He adds depth and experience back there. And from everything our scouting staff has said, Paige is a good, reliable goaltender."

Marble stopped 46 shots for the win and was huge as the Eagles killed off all nine Jamestown power plays, including a 1:23 stretch of 5-on-3 in the third period.

See EAGLES, page 14A

Marble leads the NAHL in save percentage with .941, first with 1,048 saves and fifth in goals-against average with 2.25.

"We weren't worried about our penalty kill because our penalty killers have done a great job all year long," Bragagnolo said. "We've got six forwards that can kill, our our defenseman can kill penalties, though you don't want to have to go to the well too often.

"Especially on the 5-on-3, Tyler was spectacular. They were taking chances, getting desperated and real aggressive."

Eric Rivard gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the first on an unassisted shorthanded goal, breaking down the ice with Jared VanWormer and beating Ballmer. Luc Gerdes tied the game with 3:04 remaining in the period. Chris Waterstreet scored a power-play goal from Alexander Taulien in the second period and had an empty-net goal. Michael Crowley scored an empty-netter with 3 seconds left.

Page 2 of 2 - This weekend ended an odd stretch in the schedule where the Eagles played only Jamestown and Johnstown over a 10-game stretch lasting nearly a month. They host Port Huron next weekend.

JAMESTOWN 3, SOO EAGLES 2: Aaron Scheppelman scored on a shot from the point through traffic with less than 4 seconds remaining to give the Ironmen a come-from-behind win over the Eagles.

Dylan Zink tied the game on a power-play goal with 5:01 remaining. Daniel Cesarz scored for Jamestown in the second period, and Chris Waterstreet and Sean Murphy scored in the third to give the Eagles the lead. Tyler Marble stopped 42 shots in the loss.